David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas consists of six stories set in various periods between 1850 and a time far into Earth's post-apocalyptic future. Each segment lives on its own the previous first person account picked up and read by a character in its successor creating connective tissue between each moment in time. The various stories remain intact for Tom Tykwer's (Run Lola Run) Lana Wachowski's and Andy Wachowski's (The Matrix) film adaptation which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The massive change comes from the interweaving of the book's parts into one three-hour saga — a move that elevates the material and transforms Cloud Atlas in to a work of epic proportions.
Don't be turned off by the runtime — Cloud Atlas moves at lightning pace as it cuts back and forth between its various threads: an American notary sailing the Pacific; a budding musician tasked with transcribing the hummings of an accomplished 1930's composer; a '70s-era investigatory journalist who uncovers a nefarious plot tied to the local nuclear power plant; a book publisher in 2012 who goes on the run from gangsters only to be incarcerated in a nursing home; Sonmi~451 a clone in Neo Seoul who takes on the oppressive government that enslaves her; and a primitive human from the future who teams with one of the few remaining technologically-advanced Earthlings in order to survive. Dense but so was the unfamiliar world of The Matrix. Cloud Atlas has more moving parts than the Wachowskis' seminal sci-fi flick but with additional ambition to boot. Every second is a sight to behold.
The members of the directing trio are known for their visual prowess but Cloud Atlas is a movie about juxtaposition. The art of editing is normally a seamless one — unless someone is really into the craft the cutting of a film is rarely a post-viewing talking point — but Cloud Atlas turns the editor into one of the cast members an obvious player who ties the film together with brilliant cross-cutting and overlapping dialogue. Timothy Cavendish the elderly publisher could be musing on his need to escape and the film will wander to the events of Sonmi~451 or the tortured music apprentice Robert Frobisher also feeling the impulse to run. The details of each world seep into one another but the real joy comes from watching each carefully selected scene fall into place. You never feel lost in Cloud Atlas even when Tykwer and the Wachowskis have infused three action sequences — a gritty car chase in the '70s a kinetic chase through Neo Seoul and a foot race through the forests of future millennia — into one extended set piece. This is a unified film with distinct parts echoing the themes of human interconnectivity.
The biggest treat is watching Cloud Atlas' ensemble tackle the diverse array of characters sprinkled into the stories. No film in recent memory has afforded a cast this type of opportunity yet another form of juxtaposition that wows. Within a few seconds Tom Hanks will go from near-neanderthal to British gangster to wily 19th century doctor. Halle Berry Hugh Grant Jim Sturgess Jim Broadbent Ben Whishaw Hugo Weaving and Susan Sarandon play the same game taking on roles of different sexes races and the like. (Weaving as an evil nurse returning to his Priscilla Queen of the Desert cross-dressing roots is mind-blowing.) The cast's dedication to inhabiting their roles on every level helps us quickly understand the worlds. We know it's Halle Berry behind the fair skinned wife of the lunatic composer but she's never playing Halle Berry. Even when the actors are playing variations on themselves they're glowing with the film's overall epic feel. Jim Broadbent's wickedly funny modern segment a Tykwer creation that packs a particularly German sense of humor is on a smaller scale than the rest of the film but the actor never dials it down. Every story character and scene in Cloud Atlas commits to a style. That diversity keeps the swirling maelstrom of a movie in check.
Cloud Atlas poses big questions without losing track of its human element the characters at the heart of each story. A slower moment or two may have helped the Wachowskis' and Tykwer's film to hit a powerful emotional chord but the finished product still proves mainstream movies can ask questions while laying over explosive action scenes. This year there won't be a bigger movie in terms of scope in terms of ideas and in terms of heart than Cloud Atlas.
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The Constant Gardener is leading the pack ahead of next month's British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards after picking up 10 nominations.
Rachel Weisz, who won the Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Golden Globe on Monday, is nominated for Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, while Ralph Fiennes is up for Actor in a Leading Role and filmmaker Fernando Meirelles is put forward for the David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction.
Hot on the heels of The Constant Gardener are gay cowboy heartbreaker Brokeback Mountain and politically charged Crash, which have both received nine nominations for the Feb. 19 awards ceremony.
Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee is nominated for the David Lean Award, and his stars Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams have all received recognition for their performances.
Hit British movie Pride and Prejudice has been named in six BAFTA categories including British Film of the Year and Actress in a Supporting Role for Brenda Blethyn's scene-stealing performance.
George Clooney is up for two awards—Actor in a Supporting Role for Syriana and Achievement in Direction for his handling of Good Night, And Good Luck—which has scooped six nominations.
Oscars favorites and Walk the Line co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon have both been nominated for their acclaimed acting in the Johnny Cash biopic, while Chinese beauty Ziyi Zhang is up for the Actress in a Leading Role BAFTA for her star turn in the big screen version of Arthur Golden's best-selling novel Memoirs of a Geisha.
The partial list of nominees is as follows:
Best Film:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Good Night, And Good Luck
The Alexander Korda Award for the Outstanding British Film of the Year:
A Cock and Bull Story
The Constant Gardener
Festival
Pride and Prejudice
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in Their First Feature Film:
David Belton (Producer)--Shooting Dogs
Peter Fudakowski (Producer)--Tsotsi
Annie Griffin (Director/Writer)—Festival
Richard Hawkins (Director)--Everything
Joe Wright (Director)--Pride and Prejudice
The David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction:
Brokeback Mountain--Ang Lee
Capote--Bennett Miller
The Constant Gardener--Fernando Meirelles
Crash--Paul Haggis
Good Night, And Good Luck--George Clooney
Best Original Screenplay:
Cinderella Man--Cliff Hollingsworth/Akiva Goldsman
Crash--Paul Haggis/Bobby Moresco
Good Night, And Good Luck--George Clooney/Grant Heslov
Hotel Rwanda--Keir Pearson/Terry George
Mrs. Henderson Presents--Martin Sherman
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Brokeback Mountain--Larry Mcmurtry/Diana Ossana
Capote--Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener--Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence--Josh Olson
Pride and Prejudice--Deborah Moggach
Best Film Not in the English Language:
De Battre Mon Coeur S'est Arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped)
Le Grand Voyage
Kung Fu Hustle
Joyeux Noël
Tsotsi
Best Actor in a Leading Role:
David Strathairn--Good Night, And Good Luck
Heath Ledger--Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix--Walk the Line
Philip Seymour Hoffman--Capote
Ralph Fiennes--The Constant Gardener
Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Charlize Theron--North Country
Judi Dench--Mrs. Henderson Presents
Rachel Weisz--The Constant Gardener
Reese Witherspoon--Walk the Line
Ziyi Zhang--Memoirs of a Geisha
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Don Cheadle--Crash
George Clooney--Good Night, And Good Luck
George Clooney--Syriana
Jake Gyllenhaal--Brokeback Mountain
Matt Dillon--Crash
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Brenda Blethyn--Pride and Prejudice
Catherine Keener--Capote
Frances Mcdormand--North Country
Michelle Williams--Brokeback Mountain
Thandie Newton--Crash
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